Garza eager to pitch again for Cubs

Injured right-hander wants to return this season, happy to be wanted in 2013

August 09, 2012|By Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune reporter

When general manager Jed Hoyer said Monday that Matt Garza is expected to be back in a Cubs uniform in 2013, it temporarily ended speculation the Cubs would try to trade Garza this offseason.

The Cubs waited too long this summer and watched Garza come up with an elbow injury 10 days before the trade deadline.

"As long as someone keeps wanting me to play, I'm all for it," Garza said. "I'm not looking ahead to anything. I'm just trying to get where I can get back on the field and start playing again."

While it seems unlikely, Garza said he was hopeful he could come back from his right elbow stress reaction injury before the end of this season, calling it a "minor" injury.

"I fought so long with them, 'I'll be able to come back, I'll be able to come back,'" he said. "They just said they've had enough and let's see what else is in there. It's nothing bad. Doc just said a little rest and let's get it over with."

The Cubs tried hard to push Garza on the Reds before the trade deadline. They're fortunate it didn't happen now that Garza's elbow issue was worse than originally described.

Garza said it was tough to sit and watch when he wanted to be pitching.

"They won't let me throw a ball, and that's what I get paid to do," he said. "It's not fun to come here and sit down. Yeah, I get to work out and ride a bike and watch a ballgame, but it's still not what I like doing."

The usually energetic starter seemed down and out Thursday.

"He wasn't in the typical Matt Garza spirits, that's for sure," manager Dale Sveum said. "He's disappointed with the outcome of everything, but at the same time he's going to do everything he can to get back as well."

Parallel fronts: The Cubs' march to the future continued Thursday with the promotion of Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler to Class A Peoria. Soler, who signed a nine-year, $30 million deal, hit .241 with two home runs in a brief stint playing for Mesa in the Arizona Rookie League.

"It's interesting to see him in a different atmosphere," Sveum said. "There are fans in the stands (at Class A games) and it's a little more baseball-oriented than an instructional league or simulated-game atmosphere. I look back on my days playing in the instructional league — those 100-degree days. It wasn't the best atmosphere you ever wanted to play in. Sometimes you need that extra adrenaline rush to play."

Extra innings: The start of Thursday's game was delayed by 1 hour, 20 minutes due to intermittent rain showers. … Left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith allowed one run on two hits over six innings for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, lowering his earned-run average to 3.84.